The Swiss Cottage

Sunday, July 30

My little bro has opened my eyes to a whole new part of Australia. For as long as I can remember the Gold Coast was known as Australia’s Bogan Capital. It was always the holiday destination of choice for larger louts long before discount airlines made Bali an affordable alternative. News headlines constantly proclaimed it one of the nation’s crime hot spots and graduating high school students flocked in their thousands for an annual “Schoolies” week of drunken revelry.

As a result, I’ve never had a burning ambition to visit the Gold Coast. Until recently my experience of the region had been limited to its popular Theme Parks and a brief afternoon excursion to see the iconic beach at Surfers Paradise. It was therefore with some trepidation that I signed up for a weekend away with my brothers on Gold Coast.

However, my fears proved to be unfounded. Little bro Matt gave my brother Hamish and I an entertaining eye opening tour of the Gold Coast. Over three days we dined in style, shopped for designer labels and enjoyed an afternoon winding through the quirky back roads of Mount Tamborine.

Matt showed us shade-dappled streets lined with swanky cafes and country lanes teeming with boutique wineries and micro-breweries. In fact the only remotely Bogan experience we enjoyed was a crazy evening of laughs at Dracula’s adult cabaret; and a less than impressive Thai meal on our final night out.

The genesis of our weekend away was my brother Hamish’s forthcoming 50th birthday. Matt suggested we time some time out together to celebrate while noting that I’d missed a family gathering in Rarotonga for my own 50th birthday two years earlier. The Cook Islands excursion occurred three months after Garry and I had acquired our company. At the time our initial learning curve was simply overwhelming as we worked towards the company’s busiest trading period of the year.

Our weekend together in late July was a wonderful time away. We rented a rooftop apartment that came decked out with its own spa pool, BBQ zone and stunning coastal vista. We made the most of our venue with a Moet fuelled birthday breakfast on the sun-drenched balcony and evening meals of Kangaroo burgers on brioche buns. I’ll definitely be back to enjoy more of the best that the Gold Coast has to offer.

Saturday, June 24

In 2008 I published a post about the Chalcots Estate towers scattered
along our street in London. At the time their drab and stained concrete exteriors were being re-clad in modern
aesthetic thermal panelling. The work was part
of a comprehensive £66 million refurbishment that saw flats receive an extensive exterior upgrade and new internal fittings.

The estate consists of five towers spaced approximately 100
metres apart. Four of the five towers
rise an impressive 67 metres (219 feet) or 23 storeys. Their residents enjoy one of
London’s most enviable skyline views; especially those living on the south side. Towards the south lucky residents enjoy sweeping views across Primrose Hill and Regents Park and on towards to the
Palace of Westminster and the River Thames.

Roll the clock forward nine years and the same buildings are
back in the news this week. Sadly the
news isn’t good. On the evening of 14
June a faulty fridge exploded on the fourth floor of Grenfell Tower a similar
housing estate tower near Ladbroke Grove.
Within minutes the fire, which should be contained within a single
apartment, swept up the building’s 70 metre (220ft) exterior. At least 79 people are believed to have died.
Nine people are still in hospital, of which three are in critical care.

The speed at which the Grenfell Tower fire spread and the deadly destruction it’s caused has stunned the nation. The building had recently been re-clad in shiny new
insulating panels identical to those used on the Chalcots Estate towers. Tragically, these panels have proven to be highly inflammable and thus wholly unsuitable for high-rise buildings.

Since the fire testing on similar cladding across London and the UK has found hundreds of buildings harbour the same catastrophic fire risk. Yesterday Camden Council, the authority responsible for Chalcots
Estate, ordered an evacuation of its towers. An urgent review had
revealed numerous fire hazards resulting from their earlier refurbishment beyond the risk posed by deadly thermal cladding.

Residents living in 711 high rise homes were given just hours to gather their belongings and vacate
every building. Some are now temporarily housed in
a nearby recreation centre while others have been placed in surrounding hotels. Residents are expected to be homeless for several weeks as urgent repairs begin. Eventually the cladding on all five buildings will also be replaced.

Garry and I watched the news in awe as the
streets from our old London neighbourhood were broadcast around the world. For years while on our way to catch the
Underground to and from work we’d walk past three of these towers and the local
recreation centre. My daily commute also took me past the Grenfell Tower.

The Grenfell Tower was a prominent landmark.
I use to marvel at the way my elevated train line curved around two
sides of the building. The entire experience always struck me as one of those
iconic Hollywood establishment shots that a director would use to develop a movie's opening scene.

It’s hard to
imagine that the same landmark is now a blackened, charred hulk. I also find it hard to comprehend how such deadly
material ever came to be used on high rise buildings across the UK. Tonight Garry and I are quietly thanking our good fortune that our Sydney
apartment is clad in brick and painted concrete slabs. Our hearts go out to all those affected by
this month’s tragic events.

Sunday, June 18

I emigrated from New Zealand more than 28 years ago. At the time my decision was motivated in part
by a desire to experience a more cosmopolitan lifestyle. Since then New Zealand society has
transformed itself. Today when I venture
back across the Tasman Sea I find an increasingly diverse range of world class restaurants
and entertainment; plus hotels and tourism ventures as sophisticated and immersive
as anything I’ve experienced overseas.

The contrast couldn’t have been any starker than when I took
time off to spend a long weekend with my mother last week. My trip began with an Air New Zealand flight
in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I’ve been
dying to experience this new 21st Century pencil nosed aircraft. I wasn’t disappointed.

The aircraft’s advanced feature were very much on display.
For example, the cabin windows are huge.
I had an aisle seat but was still able to enjoy the view as we came into
land in Auckland. The cabin felt lighter and airier. The air wasn’t as dry and dehydrating. The inflight entertainment system was sleek
and responsive.

Soon after arriving my mother asked if I wanted to see the
Banksy exhibition in town. I nearly fell
off my chair. Surely Mum was
joking. How on earth could a regional
city in little old New Zealand be hosting a Banksy event? Banksy is renowned British street
artist. His works regularly sell for
upwards of USD 1 million or more. To
date his identify is unknown adding to the aura of his fame.

Incredibly the Tauranga Art Gallery was hosting an
exhibition of street art. The event featured 22 works by the elusive Banksy including several instantly recognisable pieces. The Oi YOU! Collection which includes these
works, plus 58 pieces by other prominent artists, has been touring New Zealand
and Australia for several years.

The Collection is owned by George Shaw and Shannon Webster
who began collecting in 2005.
Their passion for Banksy art was perfectly timed, They were able to
buy several works the price of his work began skyrocketing. I was delighted to see his famous Flower
Thrower. This work depicts a protester
throwing flowers rather than Molotov cocktails.

The Tauranga Art Gallery had also commissioned a number of
street art murals around the inner city.
Mum and I took a walking tour to see these pieces in their all their
glory. We picked the perfect day to venture out as the sun was shining and temperatures
were surprisingly mild for winter.

Sunday, May 28

My Mum clocked up a pile of frequent flyer points when we toured Africa a couple of years ago. Last year we realised they were about to expire so Mum and I made plans for her visit Sydney for a week. We scheduled the trip to coincide with ANZAC day as its timing this year allowed Garry and I to book in a four-day weekend. Taking time off has become rather challenging now that we're small business owners.

On a whim I decided we should all take an extra day off and spent four nights in Far North Queensland visiting Garry's brother and his family. My Mum was delighted by this idea as it's been almost 25 years since she last visited Port Douglas (which was also my first visit to this popular resort town).

We flew out shortly after lunch on Friday. Unfortunately Garry had to cancel at the last moment. He'd come down with a shocking dose of flu and decided he was best to rest and recuperate at home. Our tropical excursion coincided with the tail end of the tropical wet season. However, we got lucky. the few brief showers we experienced never hindered our plans. Several days even saw enjoying extended periods of passing sunshine.

We based ourselves in a spacious holiday home overlooking Six Mile Beach. I'd rented it under the assumption three of us would be travelling. As a result, Mum and I really found ourselves experiencing a rather luxurious stay.

Our first day was spent driving north as far as Cape Tribulation. We began the day with a croc-spotting cruise on the Daintree River. We weren't disappointed. We saw one huge croc and several smaller baby crocs happily sunning themselves along the muddy river bank. Mum and I then caught the Daintree Ferry and made our way to the Cape, stopping briefly at Alexandra Lookoutto soak in views of the Daintree river mouth.

Cape Tribulation was exactly as I recall. This was my third time there. The first was also with Mum in 1992. Back then the road was unpaved and could only be safely traversed in a four-wheel drive vehicle. Today its a comfortably paved road all the way to the cape. After a rather disappointing lunch and a rainforest boardwalk we made our way home.

On our way we dropped into the Daintree Discovery Centre. We had the centre's rainforest canopy walkway and canopy tower climb largely to ourselves for almost an hour. Sadly there no Cassowaries wandering the forest floor. However, we did later see a wild Bush Turkey on the roadside.

Our second day was spent experiencing the Agincourt Reef on the Great Barrier Reef. We caught a Quicksilver tour out to the outer reef. The company has done a superb job of creating a memorable day. We filled our time with snorkelling, touring the reef in a semi-submersible and viewing the reef from an underwater observatory. I also surprised Mum with a helicopter flight over the stunning ribbon reefs. We were lucky enough to see a couple reef sharks basking in the shallows. All in all is was an incredible day.

Our third day was spent shopping, dining and generally chilling out. Mum bought a lovely necklace and I finally found some new swimming shorts that fitted me perfectly. We also ate some of the most delicious salt and pepper calamari we've ever tasted.

Our final day was spent on the Kuranda Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. We spent a couple relaxing hours wandering the markets in Kuranda and enjoying some truly mouth watering savoury crepes at a highly recommended market cafe. It was then back to the airport for an early evening flight home again.

Sunday, March 26

Owning a toy company involves a few unavoidable
commitments. One of these includes
meeting our key suppliers face to face at least once a year. The annual Spielwarenmesse, or Toy Fair, in
Nuremberg provides an ideal opportunity to meet with many of them in a single
journey.

Garry and I made our second pilgrim to the city in early
February. Along the way we stopped
briefly in New York to meet with several suppliers who weren’t attending
Nuremberg. Unlike our first trip to this
event this year we felt more in control of the experience. We knew what to expect and were arriving with
another year of exceptional results under our belt.

The fair is an incredible event. It’s the largest trade show for toy industry in the world. Every year over a period of six days almost 3000 exhibitors from 60 countries present their products. More than 54% of its attendees are international visitors. The event fills 17 enormous exhibition halls, many of which are dedicated to promoting a single toy genre.

It was an exhausting time. We met with suppliers every day. We walked many of its cavernous halls in search of new suppliers. Our evenings were then filled by suppliers keen to entertain us and facilitate introductions to new industry contacts. On reflection we’re glad we scheduled our arrival in Nuremberg to include a full day to rest and recover from jet lag before the madness began.

We spent part of our free day visiting some of the city’s
famous sights. Nuremberg has a
fascinating history. It’s been
associated with toy manufacturing for more than 600 years which explains why
the fair is held here each year.
However, Nuremberg is better known for its place in the Holy Roman
Empire. It’s been called the empire’s unofficial
capital as its Imperial Diet (Reichstag)
and courts met at Nuremberg Castle.

In more recent times Nuremberg is renowned for its infamous association
with the Nazi Germany era. The Nazi Party chose
the city to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions in part to emulate the
Holy Roman Empire historical gathering.
These massive conventions, known as the Nuremberg
rallies, were held in the city in 1927, 1929 and annually between 1933 and 1938.

Garry and I visited the Dokumentationszentrum (Documentation
Centre), a museum that documents the city’s Nazi era. It’s housed in the north wing of the partly
finished Kongresshalle (Congress Hall). The exhibition is a fascinating exhibit. We spent several hours there learning more
about this extraordinary period of Germany history.

Afterwards we walked to the nearby Zeppelinfeld, where most
of the big Nazi parades, rallies and events took place. It is fronted by a
350m-long grandstand, the Zeppelintribüne, where you can still stand on the
very balcony from where Hitler incited the masses. It’s an odd sensation to
stand here and recall the dramatic black and movie newsreels that captured
these rallies.

We then made our way back into the old city and spent time
wandering the castle grounds, admiring the view across its red tile rooves and
exploring the old town’s narrow cobblestone laneways. Last year we’d hoped to do this but soon found
our days filled with trade show activities. We’re glad we made time for a short break as
the days that followed were even more frantic than those in 2016.

Sunday, February 12

Our business trip to New York originally included a stop in
Philadelphia to meet with one of our key suppliers. However, some last minute changes resulted in
them travelling up to New York to meet us.
As a result we found ourselves with 48 hours to spare while waiting for
our transfer flights to Nuremberg.

On a whim Garry and I decided to hire a car and drive to
Washington DC for a whirlwind tour. We
left New York about 9:30pm and eventually reached our hotel shortly before
2am. Garry can now boast of driving
through Manhattan at night. Getting out
of the city proved relatively easy. Likewise, Washington DC was equally easy to
navigate.

DC was bitterly cold…! After a lazy morning resting from our
late night arrival we took a walking tour through the Mall. Our route started at the Lincoln Memorial
before finishing with an afternoon at the recently opened National Museum of
African American History and Culture.
Along the way we visited the new Martin Luther King Jr memorial.

Garry and I were last in Washington DC in 2005. We visited the city while on our way to start
our expat adventures in London. It was
wonderful to see visit again. Washington DC really is a timeless destination. In many respects it looks no different to my first visit, or this third visit decades later.

The inauguration of Donald Trump had happened the week before
our visit. (We'd watched him depart the White House for the Capitol Building ceremony just prior to boarding a flight from LA to NYC). As a result, many parts of the city were still in the throes of
returning to normal. The massive inauguration
platform was still standing in front of the Capitol Building, protest marchers
were still crowding the local streets and temporary fencing and media towers
were still blocking streets around the White House.

The African American History museum was a fascinating
venue. I learnt a lot about the early
slave trading economy and was appalled by the barbaric practises of the slave
traders. The museum does a superb job of tracing African American history from
its infamous beginning to the history making inauguration of Barack Obama. One of the venue’s most memorable places is
its room of reflection. A circular
curtain of water falls from the centre of the room while the surrounding walls
carry quotes from some the nation’s most celebrated African Americans.

Our final day in the city was spent revisiting the Air & Space Museum, plus a few hours shopping for a winter wardrobe to keep us warm in Nuremberg. We then retraced our steps back to New York and on to JFK Airport for an evening flight to Europe. For me the highlight of this airport transfer was another opportunity to drive over the graceful Verrazano Narrows bridge.

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About Me

Andrew and Garry relocated to London from Sydney, Australia in October 2005; before retracing their steps in January 2011. For five years they called the London suburb of Swiss Cottage home.
Andrew dedicates his life to roaming the globe, sometimes for pleasure, but usually for business. There's an ozone hole up there with his name on it.
Garry manages the household's wireless network, transforming odd bits of wire and cable into the ultimate home office environment. His spare time is devoted to fulfilling the world’s need for educational charts and eco-friendly wooden toys.